1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to communication systems; and, more particularly, it relates to beamforming, within single user, multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wireless communications.
2. Description Of Related Art
Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio, personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptop computer, home entertainment equipment, etc., communicates directly or indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For direct communications (also known as point-to-point communications), the participating wireless communication devices tune their receivers and transmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g., one of the plurality of radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communication system) and communicate over that channel(s). For indirect wireless communications, each wireless communication device communicates directly with an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or an associated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wireless network) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication connection between the wireless communication devices, the associated base stations and/or associated access points communicate with each other directly, via a system controller, via the public switch telephone network, via the Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.
With the proliferation of high throughput application, high data rates have become an important issue for modern communication devices. The fidelity of communications, however, face the scrutiny of users that are becoming accustomed to high bandwidth and better communication quality.